ONE
by StabeTheBabe
Summary: They say two is better than one, but this story brings a whole new meaning to one. Olivia and baby Noah have each other, and they're perfectly happy that way; but after Elliot's unexpected return . . . they become ONE (Olivia Noah Elliot).
1. ONE Night

Everyone headed home a good two hours ago. The precinct was completely empty and it was just after 7 O'clock. Olivia never minded working late. In fact, she used to enjoy it. It was the prime time to finish all of her work, and she could walk in the next morning feeling completely relaxed knowing that she was all caught up on paper work and what-not. Any more though, it became her priority to get out of there as soon as possible and get home to Noah. The workplace was lonely after hours. At least, it had been now for almost 3 years. And now, she had a baby to look forward to going home to. A few more forms she thought, and she would be back home rocking Noah in her arms and reading him a bed time story.

The elevator chimed and she looked up, curious to see who had ventured back to the precinct this evening. Once she realized that it was the custodian making his way up to their floor to clean, she returned her focus back to her paperwork. About a minute later, she heard a light tap on her door. As she finished her last sentence, she rose to let the custodian into her office. She walked over to the door, flipping through her form to double check for any mistakes. It was the last one and she couldn't wait to get out of there. She opened the door, still looking at the papers and said, "I'll be out of your way here soon. I just have to look over this last form." The custodian didn't enter. She turned and started back toward her desk.

"Olivia."

She stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes grew wide, her arms and legs were painted with goose bumps, and the papers in her hands were now trembling.

Was she hearing things? She asked herself. Could it really be him after all this time? She turned slowly to face her visitor with the all too familiar voice.

When she finally saw him, she breathed out, "Elliot."

Tears immediately filled her eyes, but she refused to let any fall. She noticed that his eyes were watery as well and she could see the apology that reflected in them.

He closed the door behind him, never breaking eye contact with her. Then he slowly walked over to her. He waited a second for her to step back from his advance or to tell him to stop, but she just continued to stand there looking into his tear filled eyes with hers.

He placed his fingers on the back of her neck as he used his thumb to gently rub her cheek. His chin started to quiver as he continued to look into her eyes. He pulled her head to his until their foreheads were touching.

"I'm sorry, Olivia." He hiccupped as the tears started to fall. "I'm sorry . . . I'm so sorry."

Olivia couldn't speak. Her hands were holding his biceps and her eyes were squeezed shut in an attempt to not cry, but it was too much. With foreheads pressed together, they both cried until they were calm again.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah. I am now." He responded. "Are you okay?"

Olivia nodded, but her concern continued to grow. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what happened? Why are you here?"

"Everything's fine. I'm fine. I . . . I came here to get my job back."

"Your job? You're coming back to SVU?" She had a hard time believing this wasn't all a dream.

"I want to." He took a short pause trying to read her reaction. "I hear you're captain around here now."

She nodded. "Cragen retired. It was on good terms. He told me to do something with the place."

He nodded then. "Does hiring me back qualify as "something"?" He asked with a half-smile.

She tried to hide her smile. "I think we can work something out."

He gave her a genuine smile then. "Thank you."

"Anything for you." She reciprocated his smile.

"Anything?" He asked with a mischievous smile and a raised eyebrow.

Olivia's brow creased as she wondered what he was getting at. "Yeah... Anything." She replied with certainty.

"Be my partner again." He challenged.

His words made her stomach flip and flutter. By the look on her face, he was afraid she was about to say no.

"You don't have to give me an answer now. Just . . . think about it. Please."

"I don't want to partner you with anyone else . . ." she started.

"But?" He knew she was hesitating.

"But what will I tell Nick?"

"Nick. I'm guessing that's your new partner." Disappointment was evident in his voice.

"Yeah."

Elliot gave a defeated sigh. "It's alright. I get it."

"No, it's not like that." She quickly corrected. "I need Fin to show Carisi the ropes since he's the most experienced out of the 3, and I can't partner Nick with Amanda." She explained.

He was mentally going over all the new names she was throwing at him. "Wait, why can't you partner Nick with this Amanda?"

"Because . . . I think they're a little close."

"Liv . . . So were we." Elliot motioned between himself and her. "Out of everyone, I would think that you would be the most understanding on that subject matter."

She holds up a hand. "Elliot, trust me, they're a little bit closer than we ever were."

He squints his eyes then and shakes his head. "That's not possible." He declares with certainty.

"They're seeing each other." She announces.

His brow lifts in surprise and all is silent for a moment before he speaks again. "I see the problem; but there's still no way they're closer than we were."

His words were killing her, but she couldn't let him see that.

"Yeah, so that's the situation. You're welcome to come back to the squad, but the only option I have is to partner you with Amanda." She was doing her best to avoid his last statement.

"I don't want to be partnered with Amanda."

Olivia secretly sighed with relief on the inside. "You haven't even met her!"

"I don't have to meet her to know she's not the partner I want . . . Come on, Liv. Give them the same chance Cragen gave us. Don't partner me with Amanda."

"Elliot, I don't have a choice!"

"You _do_ have a choice, Olivia." He held her shoulders and stared into her eyes. "And I'm asking you . . . _begging_ you . . . to choose me."

Olivia didn't say a word. She just stared back at him.

"Tomorrow morning. Be here at 7." She stared into his intoxicating blue eyes for just a few more moments. She walked to her desk then and opened the bottom drawer.

He watched her with immense curiosity. She closed the desk drawer and walked back to him.

"Here's your shield, and you'll get your gun tomorrow."

He held his shield that she had just handed him and looked down at it. Shield #6313. It was his old shield. He couldn't believe it. She had held on to his old shield after all this time. "I get my old shield back?" He asked looking up at her. "Do I get my old gun back too?!"

Her hands were placed in her pockets. She gave him a nod. "And your old partner."

Her last two words shook every last ounce of control out of him. His blue eyes began to fill into blue oceans.

Olivia stopped breathing. She watched with amazement at how and the rate at which his demeanor had changed.

He took a step toward her and pulled her into him. He held her like it was the last time he would ever hold her.

She's shocked at first. She never expected to evoke so much emotion out of her partner. Well, 'old partner' she mentally corrected herself. No . . . _partner_. 'He's my partner', she corrected herself once more. And then it hit her. All the emotion came flooding into her. Suddenly she didn't want him to ever let go. She wrapped her arms around him tight and held him back.

"Liv, you have no idea how much this means to me."

She nodded against his chest. "Elliot, I have one thing to ask of you."

"Never."

"Huh?"

"Never. I'll never leave again."

She slightly pulled away, just enough to look at him in disbelief. "How did you know what I was going to ask you?"

"Because I'm your partner." He smiled at her expression.

"Yes you are." She smiled and resumed hugging him.


	2. ONE Car

**A/N: Just a cool side note. I titled this story ONE because of the characters' names (Olivia Noah Elliot). After I started writing, I came across a song by Ed Sheeran called One and was blown away by the similarity between the lyrics of the song and Olivia and Elliot's situation. It's a beautiful song! Check it out! Also, thank you all for reading, favoriting and reviewing! It means a lot. Enjoy!**

**Spoilers: Post ep. P.C Season 11 Episode 13.**

* * *

They sat there discussing how tomorrow would go. Elliot wondered if he'd get his old desk back too, or if it was currently occupied by someone else. If he was being honest with himself, he only wanted his old desk back if his partner would be sitting right across from him again. He didn't care either way. All he cared about was having Olivia back as his partner.

"So are we in the middle of any cases?" He asked.

"Yes. Two actually. Well . . . one and a half."

"One and a half?"

"Yeah, we have one, and Fin and Carisi were sharing one with Nick and I. So now, you and I have one and a half." She explained.

"Got ya." He said understanding now.

"Actually, I should probably brief you on them real quick. You got a second?" She went to grab the case files.

"Yeah. Yeah of course, but hey Liv? What do you say we get out of here, grab something to eat and then go over the cases?"

She stopped what she was doing and looked back at him. "Yeah. Okay."

He smiled then. His internal excitement too overwhelming to ignore. "I'll drive." He volunteered as he grabbed her coat and held it open for her.

She sat the files down as she turned her back to Elliot and let him help her into her coat.

"Thanks." She turned and gave him a small smile as she buttoned up her coat.

"No problem." He smiled back at her. "You ready?"

She grabbed the files and turned off her desk light. "Yep."

She followed him out to his car and he held the passenger side door open for her.

She thanked him and climbed in. Her stomach was fluttering again. It had been so long since they last did this.

Elliot jumped into the driver seat and started the car. He blew into his hands and rubbed them together. "So, Chinese takeout?" He asked.

"Uh, sure, but where are we 'taking out' to?" She questioned.

"I know a place." He smiled at her and called the Chinese restaurant.

After they picked up their Chinese, Elliot pulled the car up to a tall building and put it in park.

"Alright. We're here." He announced.

Olivia looked around through all of the car windows. "Elliot, where exactly are we again?"

"My new apartment."

"Your new apartment?" She was utterly confused now.

"Yep." He got out of the car and walked around to her side to open the door for her.

"You sold your house?"

"Not quite. I didn't sell the house. Kathy's still living there. We got divorced last year." He shut the door after she climbed out.

She spun around at his words and stared at him with mouth agape.

"What?" He half laughed. He knew what was about to come. "Here, hand me the Chinese."

"Why didn't you tell me this back at the precinct?!" She asked in shock and disbelief. Her tone was almost exasperated.

"Because you would have asked me a hundred questions and we would have never made it out of there. Now you have all the time in the world to ask me whatever you want. Well, at least until work tomorrow morning."

He started walking towards the front door of the building.

"Have you been living here for a year?" She followed behind him.

"No. I just finished moving in on Saturday. Kathy and I have been divorced for a year, but we still lived together until I could find and afford a place of my own. I started moving in about a month ago."

They were in the elevator now and Elliot pressed the button that took them to the third floor.

"So when did you plan to tell me about you and Kathy?"

"Right when I did. I knew you weren't going to walk into my new apartment with no questions."

'Touché' she thought to herself.

"This is me. Room 314." He stated as he pulled out his key.

He opened the door, flipped on the lights, and held it open for Olivia to enter.

She looked around for a moment. Everything was so neat and tidy, and it all looked brand new! She looked back at him then.

"I'm sorry, El." Her eyes met his. "Are you okay? With all this, I mean?"

"I'm more than okay, Liv."

"Really?" She questioned with skepticism.

"Really." He assured her. "I promise."

She gave a sigh of relief.

"Now come on, let's eat." He tilted his head to gesture towards the kitchen.

They ate their Chinese and made it back into the living room where they found themselves on the couch laughing and catching up. They had completely forgot all about going over the cases.

"No way, El! Babs was way more into you! Do we have to call Munch to settle this bet?" She hadn't laughed this hard in years.

"What are you talking about?! She completely despised me for 90% of the case! She hit on you and she tried to kiss you! She wanted you more. No competition."

"Yeah, _tried_ to kiss me! She successfully kissed you! Explain your way out of that one!"

"It was a surprise attack! I wouldn't have let her if I would have seen it coming! And you just stood there with a smug grin on your face. Come to think of it, I bet you put her up to it! She wanted you, but you convinced her to pull a move on me!" He was grinning away. He knew this would rile her up.

Her mouth dropped open in complete disbelief. "I did no such thing!"

"Oh yeah, right!" He started when her phone began to ring.

She picked it up, "Benson."

She gasped. "Oh my gosh, Noah! I am so sorry, Lucy! Something came up at work and I completely lost track of time! I'll be right there!" She hung up and ran her hands through her hair in a stressful manner.

"What's wrong?" Elliot asked with a confused look.

"I completely forgot about Noah." She stood up and dashed for her coat.

"Who's Noah?" Elliot, without a doubt, had a jealous undertone in his voice.

"He's my baby." She answered slipping on her coat.

"You have a baby?!" Now it was his turn to be shocked.

"Yes." She finished buttoning up her coat and reached for the door. "Thank you for everything, Elliot. I'll see you tomorrow."

He caught her elbow then and spun her around. "Who did you have a baby with?" His eyes were narrowed on hers and his tone was so serious. It sent a shiver right through her.

"Elliot, I don't have time to play 20 questions! I need to get home to relieve my babysitter!"

"Well then I'll take you home."

"No, El, it's late and you have work in the morning."

"Liv, I drove you here. Your car's at the precinct. Just let me take you home."

"Crap! How am I getting to work tomorrow?" She was so angry at herself for being so irresponsible.

"I'll pick you up in the morning." He offered.

"Are you sure? I hate to do that to you." She gave him an apologetic look.

"Liv, I am absolutely sure. It'd be my pleasure to carpool with you on my first day back." He was smiling at her again.

"El, I can't thank you enough."

"Hey, what are partners for?" He was still smiling at her and gently rubbing her arm. "Come on. Let's get you home."


	3. ONE Promise

**Chapter 3: ONE Promise**

**AN: Thank you again for all of the reads, favorites, reviews, and follows! I made this chapter a long ONE (little pun there), so I hope you all enjoy it!**

* * *

They pulled up to Olivia's apartment and Elliot put the car in park.

"Thank you again, El . . . for everything."

"Don't mention it, Liv. I'll see you in the morning." He smiled.

She went to shut the car door, but stopped at the last second. She bent back down into the car.

"Hey."

He crinkled his brow, but still offered a smile. "Hey."

"Would you like to come in and meet Noah?"

The wrinkles in his brow relaxed then. "I'd love to, Liv."

Her smile grew. "Okay." She paused for a moment thinking about how heartwarming it was going to be to see Elliot with Noah. "Follow me."

He unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car to follow his partner inside. Olivia hit the elevator button, and both elevators opened completely empty.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked with a grin of mischief.

"Elevator race?" He offered.

"4th floor! GO!" She confirmed. They both bolted into their respective elevators and relentlessly poked the 4th floor button.

"Come on, come on!" Olivia spoke to herself.

2 . . . 3 . . . "Come on; almost there." Elliot encouraged the elevator.

"4! Finally!" They both exclaimed as they all but busted through the elevator doors.

"I won!"

"I won!"

They looked at each other and evaluated the nature of their excitement. They both simultaneously burst into a fit of laughter.

"Oh man! It's been a long time since I've had a good elevator race." He said with his hands on his knees still trying to recover from the laughter.

"Right?! Remember that time it was you and Munch versus Fin and I? We got to the top and all four of us blew out of the elevators and fell to the floor! Melinda looked at us like we had lost our minds!" She reminisced.

"Could you imagine if it would have been Cragen instead?"

"He would have put us all on desk duty!" She laughed.

"He probably would have banned us from using the elevators!" He laughed with her again.

"He played it tough, but he loved our care free spirits in between cases." She remembered with a smile.

His laughter subsided then. "No doubt." He watched her comb her hand through her hair, still leaning against the wall.

"I can't wait to get back to work with you, Liv." He couldn't hold it in any longer.

That grabbed her attention. She looked over at him again and her eyes met his. She gave him a small smile. "Me either, El."

Liv's phone buzzed then and they both jolted back into present time.

"Noah!" She breathed.

They darted in the direction of her door.

She opened it and immediately called out to the babysitter. "Lucy, it's Liv! I'm so sorry!"

Lucy walked around the corner from Noah's nursery. "Liv, please, don't worry about it. Noah's asleep. He's fed and changed, and he behaved perfectly today, as always." She smiled, and then gave a curious look towards the man behind Olivia.

"Lucy, I can't thank you enough! Oh Lucy, this is my friend, and partner, Detective Elliot Stabler." She stepped to the side to allow the two to shake hands.

She extended her hand to him. "Nice to meet you sir. I'm Lucy Taylor, Noah's babysitter."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Taylor."

"Lucy, could I get you back here tomorrow say, 6 am?" Olivia asked.

"Of course! Not a problem. I'll see you then! Have a good night, everyone." She grabbed her bag as she headed toward the door.

Elliot and Olivia both said good night as she headed out. The door closed behind her and then it was just Elliot and Olivia again.

"I guess I'll have to stop by some other time to meet Noah." He smiled. "Should I pick you up at 6:30 tomorrow morning?"

"No no, hold on a minute. I'll get Noah." She started towards Noah's room.

"Liv, don't wake him up. It's late and you have work in the morning. You don't need to be up all night trying to get him to go back to sleep. I'll meet him another time."

"Elliot, if he gives me a hard time going back to sleep, this will be the first. It's a special occasion. Just let me get him." She reasoned.

"Wait, Liv." He caught her arm before she could get too far.

She spun around to face him. "What? What's wrong?" Her eyes danced back and forth between his trying to figure it out.

"Will you tell me who his father is now?" He's practically begging with his eyes.

She relaxed from her previous tense form. "Let me get him, and I'll tell you everything you want to know."

He nodded and released her arm that he was still holding. He watched her disappear into Noah's nursery.

She kept the lights off as she walked up and peered over the side of the crib at her sleeping baby boy. She ever-so gently ran the back of her four fingers over Noah's cheek, admiring how precious and soft his little face was.

She started to pick him up and he made a quiet baby noise as he started to stir awake.

She lifted him to her and he laid his head on her shoulder and let out a big sigh.

"Oh, I know sweetheart." She softly spoke to him as she soothingly rubbed his back. "Mommy wants you to meet someone very special, and then I'll let you get back to sleep."

She walked back out to the living room where Elliot was sitting on the couch.

"El." He jumped up off the couch and turned towards her and Noah. She walked over to him. "I'd like you to meet Noah."

She was beaming from ear to ear. It was the happiest he had ever seen her. She was so beautiful with that smile and that baby in her arms, he thought.

"Liv." He was nearly speechless. "He's perfect."

Her smile grew even wider and she brushed some of his hair out of his face with her lips before giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"He looks just like you." He continued.

Her eyes shot up to meet his in a direct stare. She had always dreamed of someone telling her that her baby looked just like her. She thought she would never receive that compliment with Noah though.

"I mean it." He whispered to her.

She bit her lip and closed her eyes as she gently shook her head.

"What? What's the matter?" He asked with concern.

"His father..." She started.

"Olivia . . . I don't care who the father is. You don't have to tell me. All I care about is that you and Noah are happy, healthy, and safe. I'm happy for you regardless."

"I don't know who his father is." She told him as she continued rocking Noah back and forth.

"You don't?" He asked, the look of concern back now.

"No, I don't." She said in a defeated whisper. She took a moment and a deep breath. "His biological mother didn't even know who his father is." She finally admitted.

A confused look grew on Elliot's face now. "His biological mother? Wait."

She shook her head again. "I'm not his biological mother, El. His mother was an SVU victim."

It was all starting to click for him now. He listened as she went on.

"She told me that she was trying to get her life together to get Noah back. She said the last thing she wanted was for Noah to live in foster care all his life, like she did. We found her burned to death near the railroad tracks one night. They were going to put him into foster care when the judge called me out on showing the most interest in Noah's well-being. She asked me if I would like to be his foster mother for a one year trial period with the intentions of permanent adoption." She shrugged then. "I jumped at the opportunity."

He placed his hand on the side of her face. "Liv, I think it's wonderful."

She looked up at him. "You do?" She asked in a voice of sheer innocence.

"I do." He assured her. "I'm so happy for you, Olivia." He brushed his thumb over her cheek.

"Thanks." She closed her eyes and smiled.

"And I still think he looks like you." He added.

"Now I know you're feeding me a line." She remarked.

"I'm really not." He argued. "The brown hair, the perfectly round little cheeks, his nose even looks like yours."

She laughed at him squinting as he examined her nose closely and then examined her son's.

"And I bet he has big, beautiful brown eyes like you, too." He said as he gently ran his thumb back and forth over Noah's cheek.

Olivia blushed at his words and was quite grateful that his attention was directed towards Noah at the moment.

Noah was stirring again and let out another little sigh on Olivia's shoulder. Suddenly, his eyes blinked open and Elliot felt his heart start to melt.

"He's awake." Elliot whispered.

"Is he?" She tried to look at him on her shoulder.

"Yeah. And I was right about those eyes." He confirmed still admiring Noah.

Again, she smiled at his compliments. That's all she seemed to be doing tonight.

"Would you like to hold him?" She asked gently.

"I'd love to, but I don't want to startle him."

"I think he'll be okay." She assured.

He looked down at Noah, who still had his head resting on Olivia's shoulder and silently looking around.

Elliot gently lifted Noah out of Olivia's arms and cradled him in his own. Noah didn't seem phased at all by the change in arms holding him. He just contently laid in Elliot's arms and looked up at the new face.

"Hi little man." Elliot softly spoke to him.

Olivia was smiling as she watched Noah concentrate on only Elliot.

"I'm Elliot." He smiled. "I protect your mommy . . . and now . . ." He held his little hand and gently ran his thumb over the back of it. "I'm going to protect you."

As if to tell him he understood, Noah wrapped his hand around Elliot's finger. His eyes still remained focused on Elliot's face.

Olivia was now awestruck by the exchange between her best friend and her son. She'd never seen Noah so engaged before.

"You don't ever have to worry," He spoke to Noah again. "because I'm never going to let anything happen to either one of you . . . I promise." He finished in a whisper.

Noah was still holding his finger tighter than ever. He grabbed onto Elliot's finger with his other hand as well and pulled it up to his face. He examined it for a moment before pushing it away from his face again. He looked back up at Elliot then, and broke into the biggest smile Olivia had ever seen from him. There was even a sparkle in his eyes.

Elliot just beamed back at the little boy in his arms. He turned to Olivia then.

"I think he gets it." He smiled.

"I think he does too. I've never seen him smile like that." She said seriously.

"I must have a way with words." He suggested with raised eyebrows and an overly confident smile.

"You're ruining it." She said, trying not to smile.

He laughed lightly. "I'm only kidding."

"Uh huh." She gave him a skeptical look. "So that was a pretty big promise you made him."

Noah was busy playing with the pocket on Elliot's shirt.

"Yeah, well, I keep all my promises . . . big and small."

He looked back down at Noah and smiled at him again.

"Besides, I wasn't promising him anything I wasn't already sure of myself." He added.

She just looked at him. She was speechless. She didn't know what to say to him . . . to what he just said. So she just watched as he rocked Noah back and forth safely in his arms. She simply couldn't wrap her head around all the changes that had popped into her life in just one short evening. And she can only expect more changes to come tomorrow. Maybe even tonight.


	4. ONE Question

"He's asleep." He said as he walked over to Olivia with Noah in his arms.

"That didn't take long." She smiled. "You really are a pro at this."

She ran her fingers through Noah's hair and brushed it to one side.

"Do you want me to put him in his crib? Or do you want him for a little bit?" He asked quietly.

"We can put him in his crib. Follow me."

He followed closely behind her into the room that she had disappeared into earlier. She turned the night light on as she walked into the room. She then walked over to the crib and stretched her arms out to Elliot.

"I got him, Liv." He assured her.

"You can tuck him in if you want, but I want to see him real quick to tell him good night." She explained.

He smiled at her as he lifted Noah and carefully placed him in her arms.

She gave Noah a little hug. "Good night, my sweet boy." She whispered. "I love you." She kissed his forehead before handing him back to Elliot.

"Alright, little guy. Let's get you to bed." He grabbed the small, thin blanket out of his crib. "We had a good talk tonight." He talked to a sleeping Noah. "Hopefully your mom lets me come around more often so we can become better friends."

He looked over at Olivia who was leaning one hip against the door frame and her arms crossed over her chest. She gave him an amused smile.

"And one more thing, Noah." He whispered again. "Thank you for putting that beautiful smile back on her face." He ran his hand over his back and gave him a quick kiss on his forehead right where Olivia had kissed him moments ago. "Good night, little guy. I'll see you soon."

He laid him down in his crib and placed the little blanket over him, up to his stomach. He gave his hand one last light squeeze before turning to head out of the room. He looked at Olivia who still hadn't moved from her previous position. He knew that she heard every word.

He walked past her with a smile on his face, and she stood there for a few moments after he was gone replaying everything she had just heard in her head.

She turned to head in the direction he went and found him waiting right outside Noah's door. However, to say she simply "found" him would be an understatement. _Bounced_ off him is more like it.

"Whoa!" He said surprised as he grabbed her shoulders to keep her from falling.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were . . . wait . . . why are you standing here?"

"I was waiting for you." He explained. "What took you so long?"

"Nothing." She said quickly.

He gave her a question filled stare and folded his arms over his chest. "Is that your final answer?"

"Yeah." She pressed her lips together and nodded, avoiding eye contact.

He was watching her closely now. She could feel his stare. She grabbed the back of her neck then.

"Listen. Do you want some coffee?" She needed an excuse to get away from the stare and the questions.

"I could go for a cup." He admitted.

"Two creams, one sugar?"

"You got it." He was back to smiling again. Of course she remembered how he liked his coffee.

* * *

They were just finishing their coffee when Olivia let out a little yawn.

"You just drank an entire cup of caffeine! How are you tired?" Elliot asked incredulously.

"I worked all day, and it's almost midnight! She defended herself.

He leaned back in his chair. "Fair enough. I guess I should get going and try to catch some sleep. That 5 O'clock hour rolls around pretty fast."

He stood and grabbed both of their mugs and took them over to the sink to wash out.

"Elliot, you don't have to do that. I'll take care of them."

"I don't mind. It'll only take a minute." He reasoned. "There. Done." He turned, drying off his hands.

"You didn't have to do that." She said.

"I wanted to."

"Well thank you . . . again."

"You're welcome, Liv." He slipped his coat on. "I'll see you in the morning, bright and early."

"Bright and early." She repeated.

She's responding, but he can tell she's distracted. There's something else on her mind.

"Something's bothering you." He stated simply.

She looked up at him then. "What? Nothing's bothering me." She shook her head.

He wasn't buying it, but he wasn't going to fight her on it. Tonight was too perfect. He didn't want to risk ruining it all now.

"I wish you'd tell me." He wore a subtle frown.

"Elliot, there's nothing to tell! I swear."

"Okay." He nodded. "Alright . . . but would you tell me if there was?"

"Would you?" She pushed his question back onto him.

"Yeah, I would." He answered confidently. "Would you?"

The pressure was on her now. She could take the easy way out of this and just agree, but she refuses to be dishonest with him.

"I can't promise I'll just come right out and tell you everything on my mind out of the blue, but if there's something specific you want to know, I'll certainly be honest with you."

He was happy with that answer and he could tell she was being completely honest. He felt slightly more relieved now.

"Okay. Well, in that case, I have two questions."

"Specific questions?" She asked.

He nodded.

She gave a nervous sigh. "Alright. Two questions. Go."

"First one is pretty easy. Just a simple yes or no." He paused a moment, gauging her reaction. "Did you miss me?"

Her heart rate went from 90 to 0 in a matter of seconds. She felt a flash of heat rush from her toes, through her stomach, and all the way up to her face. Her face was hot now and she knew it was as red as can be.

She quickly cleared her throat. "That's not a simple yes or no question, Elliot."

He furrowed his brow in confusion. "How isn't it? You either missed me or you didn't." He clarified. "And for the record, you never said it had to be 'yes or no', it just had to be specific."

She silently cursed herself for giving him the freedom to ask her these questions. He was right. She couldn't argue with him, and now she's trapped.

She looked away from his eyes. "Did you miss me?" She asked.

"Olivia." He had his head tilted to one side giving her the 'come on, you have got to be kidding me' look.

"What?" She asked feigning innocence.

"Are you really going to do this?" He asked her.

"Elliot, if you can't even answer your own question, how can you expect me to?" She tried to reason.

"I _can_ answer my own question."

"So then why won't you answer?" She questioned.

"Because these are _my_ two free questions. You answer my questions and you can ask me anything you want." He bargained.

"And if I don't?" She challenged.

"Answer the damn question, Olivia." He said slowly and seriously.

She felt a lump form in her throat. This was it, she thought to herself. She bit her lip, wishing she could remove herself from this situation.

"Yes." She finally whispered.

Every muscle in Elliot's face relaxed then. His stare softened, and his heart rate started to pick up.

"Yes? You said yes? You missed me?" He asked, wanting to make sure he heard her correctly.

Her eyes became a little watery as she nodded in response.

The next thing she knew, she was wrapped up in his arms. He pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. One arm was wrapped around her shoulders, while the other hand was holding the back of her head.

"Yes." He whispered into her ear.

"Yes, what?" She asked.

"I missed you too." He answered.

"You did?"

"Only every single moment of every single day . . . and night." He smiled when he felt her cheeks raise in a smile against the side of his face.

"You're a lot better at answering your questions than I am. Are you sure you don't want to answer the second one for me?" She joked.

"We can save the second question for another time. It's late." His hand left the back of her head and she lifted her head to look at him.

"What time is it?" She asked.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket. "1:05." He read.

"Wow. Where did the time go?" She said more to herself.

"Into one question." He remarked rolling his eyes playfully. "I'll see you in a couple hours. Get some rest."

"Okay. See you in a bit." She said quietly.

"Goodnight."

She gave a quick, small smile. "Night."

He was halfway out the door, not even looking at her anymore. She had been internally fighting with herself for what was actually 3 seconds, but felt like an eternity. She finally made up her mind once she heard the door click shut.

She grabbed the door and ripped it back open. She poked her head out into the hallway.

"Elliot!" He was almost to the elevator.

He turned his head in the direction that he heard his name come from.

She motioned for him to come back to her door. He changed direction and started walking back towards her.

"Did I forget something?" He asked when he finally approached her.

"No. I just . . . I thought . . . you know, it's so late. By the time you get home and get to bed, it'll be closer to two, and then you'll be up again at 5:30, and . . ." She took a moment to catch her breath. "I'm rambling."

He put his hands in his pockets and smiled at her. "Just a little, but that's alright."

"I guess what I'm trying to ask is . . . " She let out a breath. "Would you like to stay here tonight?"

He was trying to hide his growing smile. "You'd really be okay with that?"

"It's totally okay to say no. I just figured it was late and I thought I'd offer. I'm sorry if I overstepped any . . . wait. What did you say?" Where did these nervous rambling spells come from?

"I asked if you'd really be okay with me staying." He raised his eyebrows waiting for her response.

"Of course I'm okay with you staying, El." She smiled at him then. "Come on, I'll grab you some blankets and pillows.

* * *

"Alright. Here's some blankets and two pillows." She watched him fluff the pillows behind him.

"Perfect." He said looking back up at her.

"Is there anything else you need? Glass of water?" She offered.

"I'm good. Thank you." He said leaning back.

"I'll leave the bathroom light on for you."

"Sounds good. Do you have your alarm set?"

"Yes I do." She smiled. "This isn't a new routine for me."

"Right. Maybe I'm just a little excited." He admitted.

"Maybe." She winked. "So, before I head off to bed, I was wondering . . . what was your second question?" She couldn't help her curiosity.

"I told you we could save it for another time."

"I'm just curious." She answered.

"I just wanted to know what you were thinking about when you didn't follow me out of Noah's room."

She sat down on the edge of the couch. He watched her with his hands behind his head.

"I was thinking about everything you said to Noah, and how even though you made it sound like you'd be around, I was still worried that you'd leave tonight and I wouldn't see you again." It actually felt good to answer this question, she thought.

Elliot sat up on his elbows then. "Liv, I meant what I said to Noah. With all my heart, I meant every single word. I know I haven't proven to be the most trustworthy lately, and I also know I don't deserve to have your trust back, but I promise you, and I'm going to prove to you, that I'm not going anywhere. Not without you and Noah. Okay?"

She was nearly speechless again for probably the third or fourth time tonight. "Okay."she choked out in a whisper.

He reached out and rubbed her arm. "For the record, I'm glad you were curious. That stuff needed to be said."

"Yeah." She nodded. "It did." She paused a moment, looking down at her hands. "Elliot."

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a question tomorrow?" She asked cautiously.

"Of course you can. You can ask me now." He offered.

"No, it can wait." She assured him. "We need to get to sleep." She patted his knee and went to stand up.

Before she could stand, he grabbed her hand. "Sweet dreams, Liv." He smiled at her.

She was surprised at first, but then shot him a warm smile back. "Sweet dreams, El."

She walked back to her room, shut the door, and pressed her back against it with her head leaning back against it as well. 'This has been one unexpectedly eventful night.' She thought to herself.


	5. ONE Morning

**Chapter 5: ONE Morning**

**A/N: I am so sorry for the unbelievably long wait for this update. I was previously preoccupied with applying to Pharmacy schools, interviews, and typical school work. Now that I'm accepted into Pharmacy school, I'm a lot less overwhelmed and will try to update a little more regularly. However, I still have a lot of work left ahead of me this semester, so I apologize in advance if the next update is not up in a timely manner. Thank you for your continued support! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please leave me your thoughts!**

* * *

After a few light hours of sleep, she walked back out to the living room and checked the couch. The blankets were neatly folded and the pillows were stacked, one on top of the other, but no sign of Elliot.

Did he really leave already? And without her?!

A flushing sound interrupted her thoughts. Next the sound of the faucet.

'He's in the bathroom.' She realized.

The bathroom door pushed open, and out came Elliot. He was slightly startled by her unexpected presence.

"Hey! Good morning."

"Good morning." She replied back.

They stood there just looking at each other for a moment, until they heard a faint sound coming from the baby monitor in Olivia's hand.

"He's awake." She stated simply.

There was a knock at the door, then.

"That's probably Lucy. I'll let her in." Elliot headed for the door.

He unlocked the door and opened it to find a surprised looking Lucy. "Good morning, Lucy. Come on in." He welcomed.

"Mr. Stabler! You're still here! I mean . . . good morning! Is Olivia here?"

He smiled at her acknowledgment that he hadn't left. "Liv's here. She just went to get Noah out of his crib."

"Oh, alright. Great!" She sat her bags down before taking off her jacket.

Olivia walked out to the living room with a half-awake Noah in her arms. "Good morning." She smiled at Lucy.

She was rubbing her hand up and down Noah's back. "Alright my sweet boy." She whispered. "I have to go to work with Elliot, but you and Lucy are going to have so much fun again today!"

She lifted him so that he was looking at her. "I love you, Noah. I'll see you tonight." She spoke softly to him. She gave him a kiss on his forehead before handing him over to Lucy.

"Thank you, Lucy! I'll see you tonight around 6. I'll call if we're running late."

Elliot held her jacket open for her. She didn't hesitate or give it a second thought as she slipped her one arm through one sleeve and let him help her other arm through the other sleeve.

"Sounds good, Olivia. We'll see you tonight!" She smiled. "Have a good day at work!" She called after them as they headed out the door.

"Thank you!" They both responded in unison before closing the door behind them.

Lucy looked down at Noah, who seemed to be amused at the moment.

"Alright, Noah. Let's get you something to eat. Something tells me we have a long day ahead of us!" Lucy said before carrying Noah into the kitchen.

* * *

They pulled up to the precinct and Elliot put the car in park. He took a strong, deep breath.

"I can't believe we're back." He thought out loud.

Olivia looked over at him. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"About coming back here and working by your side all day, every day?" He paused briefly. "Never." He smiled at her.

She smiled back at him. There was no denying it. She missed that smile so much. She missed _him_ so much . . . Why did he leave for so long? Why didn't he keep in touch?

"Elliot . . ." Her smile had faded.

His look turned quizzical. "Yeah?"

"Remember how I said I had a question to ask you last night, but I wanted to save it for another time?"

"Yeah." He watched her expectantly.

"I was hoping that time could be now." She said with the driest of throats.

"Of course. You can ask me anything anytime you want." He assured her.

"Okay." She took a seemingly long pause before continuing. "You left . . . you left without a single word . . . at least to me. Not even a phone call, a letter, an email . . . Why? What did I ever do to deserve that?" She had to stop. She felt the emotion climbing to her eyes.

He felt like he just had the wind knocked completely out of him. He knew that this question was due, but he thought that when the time came, he would have the upper hand. He had to be honest with her.

His voice was quiet. "I don't have anything, but excuses." He looked away for a moment. "And I am so sorry. I wish I had a legitimate reason. You don't deserve excuses, and you did absolutely nothing to deserve my abandonment. I can't tell you how sorry I am."

"Excuses, reasons . . . it doesn't matter. I just need _something_ to help me understand."

She wished she could read him, and they wouldn't have to do this talking thing. She could tell he was uncomfortable. They needed to talk through this though.

"Before I turned in my papers, IAB scheduled a series of psych evals for me. They strongly recommended counseling and of course, I refused. And then they said, 'would you do it for your partner?'" It was becoming increasingly difficult to speak. "At that point, we both had all the answers we needed." He paused for a second. "There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you . . . and with that being said, even if I was cleared to come back, there was no way they were going to let us work together anymore." He looked back at her with heavy, watery eyes.

Her eyes were starting to water too. "So to avoid losing me as a partner, you retired?"

"If I couldn't have you as a partner, I didn't want a partner. I didn't want to do the job anymore. I _couldn't_ do the job anymore without you." He let out a short shaky breath. "So I left. I didn't try to contact you and I never let you reach me, because I knew it would take one single word and I would be right back here the next morning."

"Maybe I wanted you right back here the next morning." She argued. "Maybe I can't do this job without you. Did you ever think about that, Elliot? Did you ever think about me?" She was desperately trying to hold her composure.

"Every day." He answered immediately. "I thought about you every single day . . . and you_ can_ do this job without me. I knew you could, and you've proven that."

She shook her head. "Not like I did with you. This job has been miserable without you. It probably would have been at least bearable if I would have heard from you once in a while."

"I was in counseling. For one, I didn't really want anyone to know, and two, trust me, it would have been really counterintuitive to contact you at that point."

"You went to counseling?" She asked surprised.

"I did. For over a year."

"But why? You didn't have to worry about getting cleared for work." The confusion was written all over her face.

"I did it for you. The brass asked me if I would do it for my partner, and like I said . . . I'd do anything for you."

They stared at each other for a few moments before she closed her eyes and leaned back against the head rest.

"And after that counseling ended, I went straight to marriage counseling with Kathy." He continued, feeling calmer now.

"I take it that one didn't work out for too long afterwards." She said with her eyes still closed.

"No, neither of them did. I'm still opposed to counseling." He admitted with a small smile.

She sat back up and looked at him then. "Thank you." She finally spoke. "For being honest with me."

"Always." He promised.

"And listen . . . the next time you want to leave this place, just say something so I can leave with you." She half-joked with him.

His smile grew back again. "Deal." He agreed.

"Good." She settled it with a smile still on her lips.

"Olivia . . . I am sorry for everything I put you through."

"I know you are, and you don't have to be. I forgive you. I just needed to understand why."

He nodded in understanding.

She started to unbuckle her seatbelt. "You ready to head up?" She asked tilting her head toward the precinct.

"You bet." He said as he unbuckled his own seatbelt and opened the car door.

They fell in step side-by-side as they headed into the building. As they stood there waiting for the elevator to arrive, it gave Olivia plenty of time to think.

She kept stealing a glance over at her partner. She hadn't been this close to him in years. She still had a hard time convincing herself that this was real, and it wasn't all just a dream.

The elevator finally arrived and they stepped in together. Again, she stole another glance at him.

"Meeting in my office." She finally spoke.

He turned to look at her.

"We need to tell Fin, and introduce you to the rest of the squad before we tell them the game plan for the new partner assignment." She explained.

"Sounds good." He said.

The elevator _dinged_ and the doors opened. They stepped out together and fell in stride with one another once again as they headed toward her office.

They walked in and Elliot shut the door behind him. Olivia set her things down on her desk and looked up to find Elliot opening the blinds.

"El, leave them closed for now. When Fin gets here, I'll call him in."

"Oh, alright. I'm sorry." He apologized,

"No, no, you're fine. I just thought we could use the privacy to discuss what we're going to say to them."

"Liv, it's not like we're firing anyone. We're just adding me back to the team." He rationalized.

"I understand that, I just don't know how they're going to react to all of this." Secretly, she didn't think Fin would be too quick to forgive Elliot and welcome him back.

"Olivia, no matter what you tell them, they're going to respect your decision and support you." He walked over to where she was leaning against her desk. "You're their captain. And you're a damn good captain . . . They know you only have the best interest of this team at heart." He reassured her.

She looked up at him with a small smile. "Are you trying to suck up to the new captain already?" She teased.

"Me?" Elliot pointed to himself. "Oh, I'm not sucking up yet! I haven't even taken you out for dinner yet." He winked at her.

"Uh huh." She gave him a knowing look. "Remember, I worked with you for over 12 years, so I know all your moves." She winked back.

"You don't know _all_ my moves!" He countered.

"I bet our partnership that I do." She challenged confidently.

She held out her hand to offer a handshake to seal the deal.

"Don't bet that!" He exclaimed.

"Why not? It's a safe bet." Her confidence remained unshaken.

"Change the bet and I'll prove you wrong."

She raised an eyebrow at him and folded her arms. "Well what should I change it to?"

"Anything else." He gave her his traditional Stabler smile.

She couldn't help but smile back. "Hmm, what about . . ." She walked to the other side of the room, examining the space. "If I'm wrong, you can move your desk in here with me and we'll share the title of Captain." She suggested.

She turned around to look at him. His reaction was priceless. His mouth slightly dropped and his eyes were as wide as can be.

"You're serious?" He questioned in disbelief.

"Yes, I'm serious." She let out a light laugh at his expression.

He walked over to her. "It's a deal." He agreed and the two shook hands.

There was a knock on her door then. Olivia walked over and peeked through the blinds.

"It's Fin." She stated. "Is it really 8 o'clock already?"

She opened the door to him.

"Good morning, Fin! I was just about to come looking for you."

"Good morning, Liv. Everything alright?" He asked with concern.

"Everything's great. Please, come in, have a seat." She opened the door to him more.

He took three steps into the office before he noticed him.

"Stabler?!" He said in shock and confusion.

"Fin. It's been a while. You look great, man." Elliot complimented.

"Thanks." He looked back at Olivia who was still standing by the door watching the exchange between the two. "Liv, what's going on?" Fin asked in complete confusion.

"Elliot came back to work for SVU." She explained. "I'm hiring him back as my partner."

Elliot stood off to the side silently waiting to be spoken to.

"And what about Nick?" Fin asked.

"I'm partnering Nick with Amanda."

"You're partnering Nick with Amanda?!" He repeated to make sure he heard her correctly. "Liv, you do know they're . . ."

"I know, Fin. I've thought it over and I'm giving it a shot. They've worked well together before. As long as they don't let it affect their job, we'll go with it." She explained.

He nodded with his eyes now trained on the floor. "And I'm solely with Carisi now?"

"Correct." She answered. "Is that okay with you?"

"Hey, it's fine with me." Fin shrugged. "When are you going to tell the others?"

"As soon as everyone gets here, I'm going to call a meeting. I just wanted to give you a heads up first."

"Well, thank you. I appreciate it." He responded sincerely. "Elliot."

"Yeah?" Elliot looked over to Fin.

"It's good to have you back, and I'm glad that you and Liv are a team again . . ." He started.

Elliot looked over at Olivia and they shared a warm smile.

"But . . ." He continued.

"I'm not leaving her." He declared before Fin had a chance to finish.

"Good." Fin said as he watched the two stand side-by-side as if they'd never stopped being partners. "Oh, and Elliot?"

Elliot nodded his head up in acknowledgment.

"You don't look so bad yourself." He smiled. "Welcome back, man."

"Thanks, Fin. It means a lot." He smiled.

Fin nodded as he headed out of the office and closed the door behind him.

With his arms folded across his chest, Elliot leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I told you they'd be okay with it."

She tried her best to ignore the goosebumps that had formed on her arms. "We told one person. We still have the rest of the squad to tell." She reminded him.

"Well let's hurry up and call that meeting so we can tell the other three." He suggested.

"A bit anxious, are we? She teased.

"Or excited." He offered.

"You're excited to tell the other three?" She felt like she was missing something.

"The sooner we tell them, the sooner I can start sucking up to my new boss." He winked at her.

Her mouth dropped a little and she gave him a look with raised eyebrows. She walked over to the door then and looked out at the precinct. Everyone was out there, all settled in and keeping themselves busy.

"Good morning, everyone! I'd like to hold a quick meeting before we all go off in different directions. I'll see you all in about 5 minutes." She looked back at Elliot and gave him the smile of a winner with a wink.


End file.
